Forever | August 4, 2015 | Contemporary Romance
Ink & Chrome, book 2
★★★★
SOURCE: NETGALLEY (PUBLISHER)
Duke Bradshaw, co-owner of the custom motorcycle shop Twisted Steel, is great with his hands and not afraid to get dirty . . . especially in his fantasies about his redheaded neighbor Carmella Rossi.
Carmella has been secretly lusting after her hot, tattooed neighbor for the last three years. His gravelly voice combined with the throaty purr of his custom bike never fails to send thrills down her spine. When Duke asks her to join him at the shop, she can't say no. Soon their days together spill over into nights that bring her pleasure beyond anything she imagined. But Carmella grew up with bikers, and knows how bad a bad boy can be. Can she put herself at risk for someone who has heart-breaker written all over him?
{ review } .
When I read OPENING UP, I knew that I liked Duke. He was a good guy, and a good friend to PJ and her family. I had a good feeling (before looking into it, of course) that he'd be the highlighted male in the second book in this series.
I wasn't expecting his neighbor, though.
When Duke is in need of someone to keep books at the shop, he immediately thinks of his pretty neighbor. He certainly crosses his t's and dots his i's before offering her the job, but he wants her there.
Carmella has been ogling Duke for some time now -- even her dog is half in love with the tattooed man. She knows better than to mix business with pleasure, so she makes the conscious decision to take the job and say goodbye to a possible romance.
But Duke wants her. And he intends to have her.
Where I could see Asa in the military life, I had a hard time putting Duke there. Why, I'm not really sure, but I just couldn't do it. Regardless, though, I enjoyed his character. He was a caring guy and when he put forth the effort, he was certainly a good catch. He was a little dense and not the brightest at others -- your girl is getting you lunch, another girl comes in, eats with you and puts her hand on you, and you're baffled when you're girl is hurt? Granted, he saw the error in his ways pretty quickly.
Carmella was a fighter and a great balance to Duke. Whenever they'd get into disagreements, Duke had a hard time seeing past the problem; instead, all he saw was Carmella and how pretty she was when she was mad.
"Can I smile yet? I mean, you're really fucking cute right now and I just want to snuggle up all over you while begging your forgiveness." --Duke
Duke was honestly a big ol' teddy bear in a biker's body. He was always making jokes ("I think your being flip is not even cute." --Carmella) to lighten situations; he brings bulbs instead of flowers because they don't die; and he's a great friend... even when said friendship makes your mother question you.
"[Mom] said she was glad I found someone because she was beginning to wonder about me and Asa." --Duke
He had his differences with his family, though, and Carmella wanted to help him work through it. It hurt me as a reader, to see how dejected he was, yet covered it up or had reasons at the ready as to why his parents and family acted the way they did.
Now, if there were ever a character that I wanted to know the itty gritty on? It's Mick. I cannot wait for Lauren to dive into that man's story. He has ghosts and secrets, and I can't wait to watch him find a person to open up to. However, due to the synopsis of COMING BACK, I'm fearful I'm not going to enjoy it as much as I'd like to.
I wasn't expecting his neighbor, though.
When Duke is in need of someone to keep books at the shop, he immediately thinks of his pretty neighbor. He certainly crosses his t's and dots his i's before offering her the job, but he wants her there.
Carmella has been ogling Duke for some time now -- even her dog is half in love with the tattooed man. She knows better than to mix business with pleasure, so she makes the conscious decision to take the job and say goodbye to a possible romance.
But Duke wants her. And he intends to have her.
Where I could see Asa in the military life, I had a hard time putting Duke there. Why, I'm not really sure, but I just couldn't do it. Regardless, though, I enjoyed his character. He was a caring guy and when he put forth the effort, he was certainly a good catch. He was a little dense and not the brightest at others -- your girl is getting you lunch, another girl comes in, eats with you and puts her hand on you, and you're baffled when you're girl is hurt? Granted, he saw the error in his ways pretty quickly.
Carmella was a fighter and a great balance to Duke. Whenever they'd get into disagreements, Duke had a hard time seeing past the problem; instead, all he saw was Carmella and how pretty she was when she was mad.
"Can I smile yet? I mean, you're really fucking cute right now and I just want to snuggle up all over you while begging your forgiveness." --Duke
Duke was honestly a big ol' teddy bear in a biker's body. He was always making jokes ("I think your being flip is not even cute." --Carmella) to lighten situations; he brings bulbs instead of flowers because they don't die; and he's a great friend... even when said friendship makes your mother question you.
"[Mom] said she was glad I found someone because she was beginning to wonder about me and Asa." --Duke
He had his differences with his family, though, and Carmella wanted to help him work through it. It hurt me as a reader, to see how dejected he was, yet covered it up or had reasons at the ready as to why his parents and family acted the way they did.
Now, if there were ever a character that I wanted to know the itty gritty on? It's Mick. I cannot wait for Lauren to dive into that man's story. He has ghosts and secrets, and I can't wait to watch him find a person to open up to. However, due to the synopsis of COMING BACK, I'm fearful I'm not going to enjoy it as much as I'd like to.
{ previous reviews in series } .
OPENING UP 4.5★ { review }
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